Aclu Aid Offer Creates Confusion

January 2, 2002|By William Glaberson The New York Times

When it arrived at Pakistan's consulate in New York recently, the letter offered welcome help to officials worn out by desperate calls from Pakistanis in detention. It said it was "to offer our assistance" to people who have been held by the U.S. government since Sept. 11.

"We are particularly interested in highlighting instances of abuse by our government and in developing systematic litigation to challenge its unconstitutional practices," the letter said.

It was from the American Civil Liberties Union, a group so reviled and revered that even the mention of its name could create a furor, which in a way helped smooth the reception at the consulate.

The letter was sent in December by the civil liberties union to the consulates of the 10 countries with the most citizens among those detained, including Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Yemen.

The story of the letter -- and the responses to it -- shows the frustrations of civil liberties advocates in trying to challenge the government's terrorism crackdown when even the names of many people in detention are still secret.

It also shows how ill-equipped many of the consular officials are at maneuvering in the U.S. legal system. Officials of several consulates said they were still unsure how many of their citizens were in detention or what they could do for those who were. The government detained these people for various reasons during the terror investigation and is holding them on immigration charges.

The consulates seemed confused by the letter from a U.S. organization offering to challenge its own government in court and were uncertain whether that was permissible in this country. Mahmoud Allam, the consul general of Egypt, said he did not know of the American Civil Liberties Union. "Is it banned here?" he asked.

The ACLU has championed the causes of immigrants since its founding 81 years ago during the Palmer Raids, an earlier reaction to terrorism that officials said was tied to immigrants. But people at the organization said they could recall no similar systematic effort to mount a legal challenge against the U.S. government through contacts with foreign diplomats. Several people at the group said the decision to write the letters was not controversial internally.

The group began collecting what was publicly known about the detainees and it stepped up contacts with Arab, Muslim and Sikh groups and lawyers. It published a brochure about immigrant rights, in English, Spanish and Arabic. A version in Punjabi is in preparation.

In early December, the ACLU joined with other groups in a suit against the government seeking information about the detainees under the Freedom of Information Act.

Responses are just beginning to come in. The Indian consulate wrote a warm reply promising a follow-up.